In honor of the Three Kings Day holiday on January 6th, The Osceola Chamber celebrated our annual Three Kings Day Osceola event at Old Town on Sunday, January 7th. Three Kings Day, or The Epiphany, is celebrated in many countries around the world. In much of Latin America, Three Kings Day, or Día de los Reyes, recognizes the Three Wise Men, or Kings, as they brought their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to baby Jesus. In many Latin American cultures, children anticipate Three Kings Day – and the gifts and treats it will bring – just as much as, or more than, Christmas.
This year, our Three Kings Day celebration began on January 3 when the Kings themselves joined Chamber President and CEO John Newstreet, Special Events Director Paola Parra, and some of our Chamber Ambassadors at Old Town for a press conference to announce their official arrival in Osceola County. Members of the press were there to help us welcome the Kings and share the event with our community.
A major staple of the Chamber’s Three Kings Day event is free giveaways and experiences for the whole family that help extend the spirit of giving of the holiday season. This past Sunday, The Osceola Chamber’s Three Kings Day celebration included toy giveaways; raffles for bicycles, tablets, and Osceola Magic tickets; business vendors; free hot dogs, popcorn, Gatorade, and snow cones; live music; free printed photos with the Three Kings; and more.
Each year free toy giveaways for all children 12 and under are made possible by toy donations from Walt Disney World Resort and Universal Orlando Resort. The Orlando/Osceola Magic also supply hundreds of basketballs. The Disney VoluntEARS and UO Volunteers also come out to Old Town on event day each year to aid the Chamber Ambassadors and staff. Hot dogs were donated by Florida Technical College, prepped by the Masons, and grilled on-site by the Knights of Columbus, making them a true group effort. Thanks to a donation from Pepsico – Gatorade, attendees also received free bottles of Gatorade. This year, popcorn and snow cones rounded out the snacks for the day.
Each child also received a raffle ticket for almost 60 bikes and tablets that were raffled throughout the day. The Osceola Magic also supplied some tickets for other lucky raffle winners. Raffle winners claimed their prizes at Old Town’s main stage, where the crowd was entertained by emcees from Exitos 96.5 and Osceola’s own Bethzaida Garcia in between performance sets from Venezuela’s Luifer Chacazo and Puerto Rico’s Ricado Azorcar.
Three Kings Day Osceola 2024 was sponsored by AdventHealth, Florida Technical College, Reunion Resort, Kissimmee Utility Authority, ABC Paving & Sealcoating, Tompkins Family Foundation, Miracle Toyota, Florida Blue, Valencia College, SkyWater Technology, Toho Water Authority, Walt Disney World Resort, Universal Orlando Resorts, and the Osceola Magic.
Presenting sponsor AdventHealth’s booth included a coloring station for kids to create their own pictures of the Three Kings, a 360 photo booth, and lots of giveaways. Other business booths brought their own games and raffles. Gatorland had a gator available for photo opps, and KUA brought their mascot Sparky and their brand new 2024 calendars.
The Three Kings themselves were portrayed by elected officials and other members of our business community. They posed for photos with kids and families that were captured on RTW Photography‘s photo booth as a nice take-home souvenir.
Find some images of our Three Kings Day fun in the galleries below, and thank you to all who attended, sponsored, volunteered, performed, or helped us publicize the event!
Meet Our Sponsors & Memorable Moments
Throughout October and November, the Chamber Foundation led a series of community information sessions about Osceola County’s Build Back Better Regional Challenge Grant award. These community conversations were held at Osceola County library branches providing constituents the opportunity to learn about the grant award and its implications for Osceola County.
Additionally, a Build Back Better Roundtable was held November 9th bringing together members from Osceola Chamber boards, Coalitions, Area Councils, and membership for conversation centered around the efforts of the Build Back Better Regional Grant and its pivotal role in the growth and expansion of NeoCity. Congressman Darren Soto provided video remarks highlighting the history of NeoCity while pledging his continued support from a federal level. Osceola County Manager Don Fisher highlighted the six projects under the scope of the Build Back Better award and how this will help propel Osceola County’s leadership role for semiconductor research, development, and manufacturing.
As part of the Build Back Better Regional Challenge Grant award, the Chamber Foundation will continue to offer community outreach and engagement opportunities throughout the coming months. Continue to watch the Chamber website, social media, and e-newsletter for news about future information sessions.
The Osceola Chamber will host our 99th Annual Meeting on February 3, 2024 at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort. Every year at this event, attendees look forward to learning who will take home our major awards, including the Linda Goodwin-Nichols Service Award and the Guillermo Hansen Unity Award. We are now accepting applications for both awards through December 22, 2023.
Linda Goodwin-Nichols Service Award Nomination Form
The Linda Goodwin-Nichols Service Award is named after Linda Goodwin-Nichols of Goodwin Realty & Associates, two-time Chairman of The Osceola Chamber Board of Directors, and a stalwart of Osceola’s Business Community for over 40 years. Throughout her career, Linda has epitomized community involvement and giving back selflessly, and this award honors an individual who will carry on her legacy. Recent past winners include Kelly Trace, Larry Walter, and Rev. Mary Downey. Click on the link above to nominate deserving individuals for this award.
Guillermo Hansen Unity Award Nomination Form
To recognize the importance of the Chamber’s core values of “Embracing Heritage,” “Creating Opportunity,” and “Building Unity,” and our partners who promote them, in January of 2018 Chairman Tim Finkenbinder announced the creation of an award to emphasize these values – particularly “Building Unity.” 2024 will mark the fifth presentation of this award. The Osceola community was saddened by the loss earlier this year of Guillermo “Bill” Hansen, the inaugural winner of this award and owner and editor of El Osceola Star Newspaper. Guillermo was a longtime Chamber member who was also a community leader known for building bridges among the diverse populations of Osceola County. As an example of what this award exemplifies, it was renamed in his honor this year. Click on the link above to nominate deserving individuals for this award.
Nominees will receive an application to complete and winners will be chosen by a panel of judges. The top three finalists will be announced ahead of The Osceola Chamber’s Annual Meeting on February 3, 2024 and the award recipient will be revealed at the event.
